Fact of the day

At the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki, Fritz Thiedemann - who had commanded a German cavalry unit during World War Two before being captured towards the end and interned in a Russian prison camp - created a unique piece of history. The farmer's son earned bronze medals in both individual show jumping and team dressage to become the only rider in Olympic history to win medals in two equestrian disciplines at the same Games. He went on to gold medals in team jumping at the 1956 Olympics, when the equestrian events were held in Stockholm, and Rome 1960. The Thiedemann rein is named after him.

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"The Davis Cup is a very prestigious event and for the nation of Myanmar we are extremely proud of this honour to be host nation," said the President of the Tennis Federation of Myanmar, U Aung Maw Thein.

"Myanmar tennis just took a giant step forward because this will be a catalyst for developing the tennis at all levels throughout the country.

"New courts have to be built, teachers and referees educated and our players trained.

"The Tennis Federation of Myanmar is most grateful to the ITF for giving us this responsibility."

The staging of Davis Cup is part of a series of projects undertaken by the Tennis Federation of Myanmar to build a strong base of new tennis teachers and players.

The Tennis Federation of Myanmar took the first step towards widespread improvements at the end of 2011 when it hired Robert Davis as head coach and technical expert.

The federation is now focusing on coach education, talent identification and development, officiating and attracting international tournaments to Myanmar.

Contact the writer of this story at tom.degun@insidethegames.biz

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